6 Ways to Protect Your Precious and Expensive Gadgets from Bad People

Charles Crawford is a high-level entrepreneur and co-founder of Crawford and O’Brien. Full Bio

You are living in a world where technology is prevalent in every walk of life. You can hardly think of anything in the modern world that is not affected by technology in some way. People now rely heavily on their electronic gadgets not only for communication but for keeping their important data safe too. Smartphones have revolutionized the world and introduced a completely new idea of portability. Today, people like to carry their stuff with them. You want your music, files, photos, applications and other tools to travel with you no matter where you are.You are living in a world where technology is prevalent in every walk of life. You can hardly think of anything in the modern world that is not affected by technology in some way. People now rely heavily on their electronic gadgets not only for communication but for keeping their important data safe too. Smartphones have revolutionized the world and introduced a completely new idea of portability. Today, people like to carry their stuff with them. You want your music, files, photos, applications and other tools to travel with you no matter where you are.

However, the prevalence of these amazing gadgets has also put a heavy responsibility on your shoulders to protect them. The more portable your data is, the more vulnerable it is. People could snatch your smartphone, steal your laptop or take away your tablet to get access to whatever important data you have on those devices.

Not to mention, they automatically get access to your personal social networking and email accounts through your devices too. This highly requires you to take steps to protect your devices from all types of thefts, snatchings, stealing and other types of unauthorized accesses to your devices.

Here are some ways to protect your devices:

1. Use Antivirus Softwares

You need to have the right antivirus software installed on your computer or tablet as soon as you get one. All the devices you use today have access to the internet. While internet is a great place, it also happens to be the haven for viruses, malwares and all types of cybercrimes. Most antivirus softwares now come with complete solutions i.e. they provide protection not only for your computer but your mobile devices. Some companies will include the protection of all your devices for one price while others will charge separately.

2. Use Passwords And Security Locks

It can be a bit annoying to enter your security code or press the power button to register your fingerprint every time you want to use your phone, tablet or laptop, but this is for your own good. Not to mention, the latest fingerprint scanning technology on the new devices has become so fast you can’t even think of scanning your fingerprint as an extra step while unlocking your device. You might remove all locks and security protections from your phone thinking that your phone is never used by anyone other than the people you trust, but you can’t be sure about other mishaps.

What if your mobile phone gets misplaced? What if someone steals your phone? In such scenarios, all your sensitive and personal information will be accessed by some random person. If they have a criminal mind, they could use your information to blackmail you.

3. Apply Strong Passwords

When you make accounts on various websites and applications, make sure your passwords are strong. You don’t want generic passwords or use the name of most important people in your life as the password. If the thief is someone who knows you, your passwords can be hacked pretty easily.

You can use password generating applications for creating random passwords. These applications will additionally protect your passwords and allow you to sign in to many services without even entering the password manually.

4. Use Anti-Theft Applications

One great example of such an application is Track My Mac. This amazing application comes from Kromtech Alliance Corp. The main idea behind this application is to protect your Mac even when it has been stolen. You can control a lot of stuff using your iPhone with the help of this application if your Mac has been stolen. As soon as your Mac disappears, you can report it as stolen on the application. As soon as you send this report, your Mac will start getting tracked. You can see in real time the location of your Mac.

In addition to that, this application allows you to take a picture of the thief. You can also control the screen lock of your Mac through the internet using this application. If your Mac was unlocked at the time of getting stolen, you could lock it remotely so nobody accesses your personal information. If someone still tries to access your Mac by entering wrong passwords, a picture will be taken of that person instantly and sent to you.

The most amazing thing about this application is that it allows you to track as many Macs as you want. If you don’t use Mac, you could look for another similar application.

5. Don’t Put Laptop In A Backpack

There are many different types of bags that you can buy for your laptops. For convenience, most people prefer bags that are worn on the back. However, if you are often walking or cycling among crowds, you don’t want to use this option. It is best that you use a bag that can be worn on your chest just like it can be worn on your back.

This way, you can keep away from getting your laptop stolen behind your back. With your laptop in your backpack bags, someone could easily unzip it, insert their hands in the bag and take away your device. You won’t even notice if you are in a crowded and noisy place.

6. Use Bluetooth And Wi-Fi Wisely

First, you don’t want to keep your Bluetooth on because that exposes you to some really unwanted risks. At the same time, you want to use some VPN or similar service on your phone, tablet or laptop if you use public Wi-Fi a lot. Airports and hotels are places where people can use methods to access your personal information from your use of Wi-Fi.

When you have a VPN, all the communication you are doing on the internet is encrypted and so intruders are not able to harm you. In a similar manner, make sure that your Wi-Fi network at home is fully secured. Your Wi-Fi network can easily be backed to send hate emails or other stuff that could get you in serious trouble without you even knowing about it.